§1What this business is

Sun-dried grain arrives from farms and mandis with dust, chaff, stones and broken or discoloured grains. In the plant an air blast and screens take out dust and large impurities, a de-stoner removes stones, a gravity separator takes out light grains, and a Sortex colour sorter rejects discoloured grains. The clean, graded grain is bagged and sold. The profile plans a 5 tonnes-an-hour line that handles wheat, rice, pulses and legumes in turn. Exporters need this step because importing countries ask for cleaned and graded lots.

Capacity: 31,200 tonnes a year: 5 tonnes an hour, 100 tonnes a day for 312 days, split equally between wheat, rice, pulses and legumes (7,800 tonnes each).

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

A grain trader or commission agent who already buys and sells in bulk and has bank limits.

Who it is not for

A first-time founder without mandi experience or large working capital.

Advantages

  • Every grain lot needs cleaning before milling, packing or export
  • One line handles several crops through the year
  • Raw material is plentiful in India
  • You can add 1 kg retail packing later

Drawbacks

  • Huge working capital for grain stock
  • Very thin margin on turnover
  • Break-even is high at 84.46%

Skills you need

  • Grain buying and quality judgement
  • Running and maintaining cleaning and sorting machines
  • Stock and price risk management
  • Bulk selling to millers, packers and exporters

Why difficulty 4/5: Large plant, very large stock funding and a thin margin.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Flour mills, dal mills and food processors
  • Packers and retail chains
  • Grain exporters

How it sells

  • Bulk sale in bags through brokers and wholesalers
  • Direct supply contracts with processors

Good to know

  • The profile takes an average selling price of ₹46,000 a tonne.
  • The profile notes that importing countries ask for cleaned and graded produce because of quarantine laws.

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Cleaner classifier3—
Aspirator and aspiration box2 + 2—
Dry de-stoner1—
Gravity separator2—
Sortex colour sorting machine with cabin and bin1—
Elevators4—
Air compressor and fans1 + 4—
All plant and machinery together—₹153.82 lakh

From: SIDBI Stand-Up Mitra project profile — Cleaning, Grading & Sorting of Agro Commodities (2018) — private guide — confirm locally

  • Wheat7,800 tonnes a year
  • Rice7,800 tonnes a year
  • Pulses (chana dal)7,800 tonnes a year
  • Legumes (tuver)7,800 tonnes a year

From: SIDBI Stand-Up Mitra project profile — Cleaning, Grading & Sorting of Agro Commodities (2018) — private guide — confirm locally

§5Licences & registration

  1. Udyam registration
  2. GST registration
  3. FSSAI licence
  4. Mandi (APMC) trader licence where the state requires it
  5. Factory licence and fire safety clearance
  6. IEC from DGFT for export

We can do this registration for you

Start it in your state

Pick your state: today’s cost, central + state subsidy, raw material, land and help, on one page.

§6Schemes & subsidies

At ₹218.82 lakh this is above the PMEGP ceiling. Cleaning, grading and sorting units are post-harvest infrastructure, so ask the bank about the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund interest subvention; CGTMSE can guarantee loans up to ₹10 crore.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: Land 1,000 sq m with expenses ₹10.00 lakh + building 500 sq m ₹45.00 lakh + plant and machinery ₹153.82 lakh + contingency ₹10.00 lakh = ₹218.82 lakh. Working capital for stocks is extra and much larger.

Working capital: This is a stock-heavy trade. The profile works out bank borrowing of ₹1,308.41 lakh and a promoter's share of ₹988.20 lakh for 15 days of raw material, 15 days of finished stock and 15 days of bills receivable, and charges ₹135.8 lakh interest on the working capital loan in Year 1.

Prices from 2018 — machinery, building and grain prices are higher now.

How to prepare a loan file

§8Export potential

Export council / board: APEDA

  • No HS code is given here — the profile prints none. Confirm the ITC(HS) line with DGFT or a customs broker.
  • You need an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT before the first shipment.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • Grain prices falling while you hold stock
  • Insect and moisture damage in storage
  • Buyers delaying payment
  • Low plant use outside harvest months

§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan

A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.

  1. Days 1–30: Visit a working cleaning, grading and sorting plant for grains and pulses unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
  2. Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam registration, GST registration), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
  3. Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.

§11Who to connect with

§12Watch

There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.

Want to start Cleaning, Grading and Sorting Plant for Grains and Pulses?

DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. SIDBI Stand-Up Mitra project profile — Cleaning, Grading & Sorting of Agro Commodities (2018)

Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.